AMOLF and Philips develop new imprint technique for nanophotonics
A unique collaboration between AMOLF and Philips Research has led to the development of a new imprint technology for nanophotonic structures. The results were published in the PhD thesis "Substrate conformal imprint lithography for nano-photonics" by Marc Verschuuren, who graduated on Wednesday, 24 March at the University of Utrecht. Verschuuren is a research scientist at Philips Research, his PhD supervisor is AMOLF director Prof.dr. Albert Polman and his co-supervisor Dr. Hans van Sprang (Philips).
Verschuuren developed a new soft imprint "technique at Philips, in which nanostructured surfaces can be made using a rubber stamp technique. This technique is an inexpensive alternative to complex cleanroom techniques such as electron beam lithography often used for nanofabrication. Key to the new technology was the development of a new rubber stamp material, making it possible to print large areas accurately. In addition, Verschuuren developed a new imprint fluid that allows reproduction of patterns with a resolution of only a few nanometers.
The contact between AMOLF and Philips on this subject was established in 2007. It was then decided to expand the imprint research to study applications in nanophotonics, one of AMOLF's key research fields. Verschuuren: "The cooperation with AMOLF gave me the opportunity to conduct basic exploratory research next to my application-oriented research at Philips. I have learned a lot from my colleagues at AMOLF by my weekly participation in group meetings. At the same time I taught my AMOLF colleagues about application-driven research. My thesis shows that our new technology leads to more efficient LEDs and lasers. We also show that solar cells with nano-imprint patterns can be made thinner, and thus cheaper. Polman: "We have learned much from Marc's knowledge in the field of nanofabrication. So much so, that we now have the new imprint technique in-house in our own cleanroom. We can now create nano patterns on large surfaces, which is important for our research on nanophotonics, XUV generation and to create structures for our biophysics research. Marc has now obtained his PhD, but our cooperation will continue. "
This research is part of a broader collaboration between Philips and AMOLF in the field of nanophotonics. One of AMOLF's research groups is located at Philips Research on the Philips Campus in Eindhoven. The contract between FOM/AMOLF and Philips was recently extended by four years.
Information
For more information, contact:
Prof.dr. Albert Polman (AMOLF), tel. +31 (0)20 754 71 00
Dr. H.A. van Sprang (Philips), tel. +31 (0)40 274 40 45